- The Story: Brian Fuentes was activated yesterday with Francisco Rodriguez being returned to the minors. The Monkey Says: I suspect that Rodriguez or some other reliever might be back soon if Scot Shields doesn’t work out his issues in the near future. I continue to believe that he is not fully healthy and might need a little rest and a stint in the minors to get himself back on track.
- The Story: Scot Shields is having “release point issues.” The Monkey Says: Or at least that is the official excuse for his struggles though the coaching staff did make a point of saying he is healthy… kind of like they did last season when he was struggling… right before they said he was hurt. I think you get my point.
- The Story: Is Fernando Rodney closing in on the closer job? The Monkey Says: If he isn’t, he should be. The party line is that Fuentes is still the closer, but the Angels can’t ignore how effective Rodney was during Tito’s absence. I still firmly believe the solution is to have the two share the job based on match-ups.
- The Story: Scott Kazmir credits a new windup for his success in his last start. The Monkey Says: The more traditional wind-up gave Kaz a better sense of rhythm, so expect him to stick with it. Now if he could just get his slider fixed and recover a few miles per hour on his heater, everything would be just fine. No problem, right?
- The Story: A different side of Scott Kazmir. The Monkey Says: The Pitch F/X data shows just how effective his change-up was last night and actually offers some good logic behind his lack of slider usage, though it still seems to me that he doesn’t trust the pitch right now.
- The Story: Jeff Mathis remains upbeat despite his “freak” injury. The Monkey Says: I don’t know about “freak” injury, getting hit by a pitch in the dirt is pretty common for a catcher. They call them the tools of ignorance for a reason.
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